The statistics of Barnstable’s American Legion Post 206 team are impressive. They boast a 22-2-1 regular season record, have a combined total of 98 stolen bases, and have a bullpen that has thrown nearly 200 strikes.

These numbers are part of a summer season that led to the 206 being crowned the District 10 Regular Season Champs and Mass State Champions.

On Aug. 9 the team, all from Barnstable, travels to Old Orchard Beach, ME, to compete in the Northeast Regionals against teams from across New England and New York State.

“It’s the first time in the history of American Legion baseball in this town they’ve had either a first place regular season team or a Mass State Championship team,” said head coach Sean Walsh, who noted that the victories came after playing 14 games in 16 days. “It was intense.”

Walsh noted that in the past, Massachusetts has not been able to field a Northeast championship team, partly due to a playoff format that involved too many games that left key players exhausted.

A format change made it so that the top team from each district competed in a single-game elimination tourney aimed at ferreting out the best teams in the state.

“We won that,” Walsh said. “When they handed us the State Champ trophy (for the first time since the team’s creation in 1925), it’s this massive thing. The kids were all hugging it, kissing it and passing it around. I was kind of freaked out on the bus ride back because they were singing and smiling. I’m used to them being so serious.”

For Walsh, a longtime friend of Arnold Mycock, Cotuit Kettleers general manger emeritus and Post 206 veteran, the win was poignant.

“This trophy’s for them,” Walsh said. “It’s for the Post. It’s for these veterans.”

Walsh said that team longevity is key to their success. Most of his players have been together for years. Luke Besse, Alex Pernick, Everett Walsh, Tim Biliouris, and Pete Liimatainen have played for Walsh for four years, while Mark Brodd, Will Toffey, Alec Morrison, Danny Walsh, and Terence Mudie have each played for three.

Pitcher Keegan Dellacona has been with the team the longest at five years.

Having played together for so long, Walsh said, has given the team a solid bond, which he feels is central to their success.

“All these guys have played together in some way, shape form or format since they were 7 or 8 years old,” Walsh said. “It’s integral to the team chemistry, how they get along, how they interact with each other.”

It’s also about staying focused and remaining humble. Walsh said his team’s mantra is “one inning at a time.”

“Our goal is to always score one or two runs an inning,” he said. “And they’ve really accomplished that.”

The stats back Walsh up. Offensively, the 206 has four players with batting averages at or above .400, with team’s average at .350. Leading the way is Dylan Morris at .488, who Walsh noted hit his first home run ever during the AL All-Star game in front of numerous college and pro scouts.

“He’s fast, wicked intelligent, and is the hardest working guy on the team, period,” Walsh said. “He never stops hustling, has real natural athletic gifts, knows how to get on base, and he does a good job of that. He is, without a doubt in my mind, the No. 1 high school baseball prospect in Southeastern Mass.”

Then there’s the 206 bullpen, led by Dellacona, a player Walsh praised highly, dubbing him the best on the Cape. The lanky righty boasts an ERA of .79 and a regular season record of 7-0 that includes 70 strikeouts and only 11 runs.

Walsh considers himself lucky to have Dellacona on the 206 team, having almost lost him to Dennis Post 488.

“I took him five years ago and he then went to Dennis Post 488,” Walsh said.

When the Dennis team was suspended for forfeiting games, however, Walsh was able to take Dellacona back.

“I was really lucky,” he said. “He was the first person I ever took. I’ve coached Keegan since he was 9. He’s the hardest throwing kid ever.”

Indeed, many of Dellacona’s pitches are in the 90 MPH range.

Walsh also spoke emphatically about the efforts of Liimatainen (4-0), George Bent (5-0), Conor Walsh (3-0), and Alec Morrison (2-0), whose pitching prowess has been a key part of the team’s success.

In spite of their strong numbers, Walsh said his team is a study in humility, well aware that baseball is a game of failure.

“You’ve got to be humble,” Walsh said. “It’s a humbling sport. If you can assimilate into your mental makeup in how you approach the game of baseball that two of three times you’re going to fail, you’re going to be a success.”

It also helps to have a top-notch coaching staff. Working with Walsh are Jack Toffey, Andrew Nugnes, and Barnstable graduate David Tierno. The team has also worked with Cotuit Kettleers head coach Mike Roberts, who instructed them in the fine art of stealing bases.

Right now, the coaching quartet is working with the team to ensure success in Maine. If they win there, the 206 will move on to the World Series in Shelby, N.C.

“We have the pitching. We have the hitting. We just have to keep it all together,” Walsh said. “To have these kids be State Champs from this Cape Cod town is even more remarkable. It’s been kind of a fairy tale ride this summer. It hasn’t really sunk in.”

To help defray travel costs to Maine, the team is raising funds. To make a tax-deductible donation visit www.barnstablelegionbaseball.com.

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